Don’t let the howling winter weather fool you, spring is right around the corner. And that means scholarship deadlines are nearly due.

There are thousands of scholarship opportunities for students of every age, race, location and academic discipline. Some are even have very specific requirements that include heritage, club membership or even hobbies meaning that the pool of applicants is tiny and your chance of winning is high.

But first, you have to find those scholarships and apply for them.

My kids started their first post-retirement school in August. A couple of months in, I asked my 16-year-old if he had made any friends yet.

“Not really,” he said. “There just aren’t any other kids like me.”

We often talk about how active duty servicemembers lose their bearings when they leave the military. They might feel lost, their feeling of purpose gone and their sense of working toward a clear objective stripped away. Their peers are no longer around to share war stories. They feel like they have nothing in common with anyone.

In case you haven’t heard the buzz, the minimum wage is going up in 2018 – maybe. It depends on where you live.

Advocates for minimum wage increase have pushed local and state governments to bring the minimum wages closer to $15 an hour, what advocates consider a “living wage.”

Some states are jumping salaries by just a few quarters, others by a mere dime. Some states also have set a schedule that will raise the minimum wage slightly each year until it hits the $15 mark. Congress hasn’t voted on a minimum wage raise in more than 10 years.

By Amy Nielsen

This is going to be short and sweet this week seeing as it is New Year’s Eve and all. Honestly, I have had a really hard time coming up to this specific day. I put a lot of stock in this year and I feel very much like I am none too far beyond where I was on this day last year. I was having a good ol’ pitty party and feeling a bit sorry for myself.

Then, bam! Something happens for two dear friends out of the blue that is quite literally in the last seconds, lifesaving. Not once, but twice in the same week, friends have received organs through donation.